Barion Brown Shuts Down Transfer Rumors: 'I'm BBN For Life'
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The 2022 regular season has come to an end, meaning the most tumultuous offseason in the history of college football is inching closer.
On Dec. 5, the transfer portal will open, ensuing chaos. Thousands of players from hundreds of schools will be on the move, looking for their next home. Kentucky will certainly be one of those schools, losing and gaining talent via the portal.
But who will those players be?
Head coach Mark Stoops spoke at-length about the new challenges of the portal on Nov. 15:
“There is free agency. I didn’t create that, but let’s be honest. There’s a salary cap, that some people have none, and there is free agency. It makes life different. Now you better adapt, you better adjust and you better be able to overcome it. Again, I play by the rules that are that are put in front of me. I didn’t create that free agency," he said. "The sustainability of 85 free agents a year is kind of interesting. How would you like to operate an NFL team with every one of your guys is a free agent every year? How do you think they’d do?”
One of the biggest names mentioned as a potential leaver is true freshman wide receiver Barion Brown. The Nashville native led the Wildcats in receptions (45) and receiving yards (604) while finding the end zone four times in his first 12 games as a Wildcat.
Rumors have swirled around the speedster leaving for weeks now, though it never came from him. After addressing it a couple of times on social media over the past couple of weeks, Brown asked to put an end to the talk after Kentucky's 26-13 win over Louisville on Saturday:
“I don’t know who started that rumor, but I’m BBN for life. So can y’all stop the rumors, please?”
Brown had four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown in his first ever Governor's Cup. He was very clearly into the rivalry battle, as he threw up the "L's down" on multiple occasions, before and during the game:
Brown is arguably the most important piece of Kentucky's young nucleus moving forward and is certainly someone head coach Mark Stoops wants to keep ahold of for the next couple of seasons.
True freshman defensive lineman Deone Walker is another big name that has been mentioned as someone who could leave Lexington after one season, but he dropped a tweet following the win that could suggest otherwise:
Walker racked up 39 tackles this season, including 3.5 TFL, a sack, five QB hurries and two pass breakups. He had six tackles in the win over Louisville on Saturday.
Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello echoed the thoughts of Stoops and the entirety of college football when asked about the portal on Saturday night:
"It's a whole new world out there, it's craziness right now, it's a free-for-all, the wild-wild-west."
Game recap of Kentucky's win over Louisville can be found here.
More on Matt Ruffolo's historic night here.
Watch: Stoops, Levis and more talk Governor's Cup win over Cardinals
Game Notes from the victory can be found here.
